Cycling: Lance Armstrong came out fighting this morning as his rivalry with teammate Alberto Contador threatened to overshadow the Spaniard's Tour de France win.
Contador admitted yesterday that relations between him and Astana team-mate Lance Armstrong are non-existent and claimed dealing with the veteran American was tougher than the race itself.
Armstrong, a seven-time Tour winner who finished third in this year’s edition, used his Twitter social networking website to berate the 26-year-old.
“Hey Pistolero, there is no ‘I’ in ‘team’. What did I say in March? Lots to learn,” wrote Armstrong. “I'd drop this drivel and start thanking his team. Without them, he doesn't win.”
There were reports of tension between Armstrong and Contador throughout the race, with Armstrong often criticising his Astana team-mate's strategy. And upon his return to Madrid yesterday, the Spaniard spoke his mind.
“He’s a great champion, and he had a great race in this Tour, but it’s something else on a personal level, where I’ve never had a great admiration for him, and I never will,” admitted Contador.
“I have nothing to say to Armstrong. The only thing is to congratulate him on his third-placed finish. On this Tour there have been more tough days in the hotel than in the race itself. It was a delicate situation, tense.
“The two riders who had the most weight in the team did not have a smooth relationship, and that puts the others in an uncomfortable position.”